La Femme Nikita--Sara Stansell

La Femme Nikita is based on a violent, drug addict, and psychotic girl who shot a police officer in his face to “save” the drug store that her and her companions were stealing from. She was sent to court to be convicted of her crimes she committed, and her sentence was death. She was then sent to some sort of basement to be injected with a “lethal toxin” but in all actuality, it was a sleeping drug. The government decides to take her over into a special program from which they only take violent people who they think have potential in being a secret agent. They plan her “funeral”, begin to train her into a spy, and her past life has now been left behind.

When she completes her training, it was her 23^rd birthday and she was sent out on her first mission to test her if she had learned anything. If she succeeded in assassinating the people she was after and got away without getting caught, she would then be sent out on her own to a top secret government agent. Sent out to live a normal life again was different for her. She fell in love with a grocery-store cashier and later married him without him knowing who she was and what she did for her job, kill people. He later then started to notice that she was acting weirder than normal and figured out what she had been doing the whole time. While they were on their honeymoon, she had also been on a mission. She finished the dangerous mission without getting killed herself. Becoming an agent taught her how to become a woman and helped her in the rest of her everyday life.

La Femme Nikita is an action/drama movie directed by Luc Besson in 1990. Anne Parillaud acts as Nikita, the main character, in the film. It had been nominated for many awards such as the Best Foreign film and the Best Foreign Language film but was the winner of the best actress award thanks to Anne Parillaud.












1) Did you like this film? Why or why not?
--This movie was very interesting. The only way I could keep up was because of the subtitles. They spoke so fast but I could pick up on a couple of words. It was very dramatic and full of excitement, which I like. It could have been a little better with the acting, but overall it was good.
2)How does the film compare to an American film of a similar genre? How is it different?
--By only watching one movie of a dramatic/action genre I can't really compare it to American drama/action movies because there are many movies that are totally different but have the same genre. Comparing with current movies today, I would have to say that they have the same intensity but it would have been better if they actors could actually act.
3)What are three major themes that the film addresses? How are these themes played out?
--When Nikita is taken in by the government and given a second chance, it shows that the government , or any other person cares for you no matter how messed up you can be. There aren't always second chances, and when they do come up, you don't always want to risk taking them, but by Nikita taking the second chance at life it turns out that she was better off. She also proves to us there there is love everywhere. She accidentally falls in love with a grocery store cashier even though she is supposed to be focusing on her mission. No matter what, you can't stop love.
4)What does the film show about the french culture?
--Just like in America, there are movies that involve shooting and violence. This could possibly be one of the reasons society is so violent today because of our media. it also show that action movies like "La Femme Nikita" are internationally loved by all. Films such as this shows the French aren't that different from us when it comes to the movies we like.